Rory, Adam and The Numbers

Looking over the 2016 PGA Tour statistics, something jumped out at me. Statistically, Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott enjoyed outstanding years in 2016.

Rory finished 5th in scoring average and 11th in greens in regulation. Adam Scott was even better: 4th in scoring average and 3rd in greens in regulation — a terrific performance.

What stood out? Their putting stats: Rory was ranked 163rd in total putting while Adam was 158th.

Now, there is a problem with putting statistics: the more greens you hit in regulation, the fewer opportunities you’ll have to get the ball up-and-down. You won’t see as many putts inside 5 feet as the player who’s scrambling frequently.

To lend further credence to Mark Twain’s quote above, the PGA Tour’s “putting average“ statistic for the same two players paints a very different picture:

Rory McIlroy: 19th (tie)

Adam Scott : 67th (tie)

Regardless, let’s look at several stats for the (15) leading scorers on the PGA Tour in 2016:

Player

Scoring Rank

Scoring Average

Total Putting Rank

Greens In Reg. Rank

Scrambling Rank

Dustin Johnson

1

69.48

42

43

70

Jason Day

2

69.71

1

53

26

Jordan Spieth

3

69.72

8

146

9

Adam Scott

4

69.8

158

3

74

Rory McIlroy

5

69.97

163

11

88

Phil Mickelson

6

69.97

2

84

4

Steve Stricker

7

69.98

20

158

1

Alex Cejka

8

70.04

88

39

3

Matt Kuchar

9

70.04

16

44

34

Charles Howell III

10

70.07

66

38

44

Roberto Castro

11

70.12

116

19

62

Brooks Koepka

12

70.13

46

59

152

Hideki Matsuyama

13

70.15

84

36

46

Patrick Reed

14

70.15

44

116

8

Rickie Fowler

15

70.17

35

15

22

In any case, should Rory or Adam happen to get hot with the flat stick in 2017, look out.